Traversing the Vestfold Hills: Choose your own adventure
My current home, Davis research station lies on the edge of the Vestfold Hills. A roughly 500 km² ice-free area, bookended by the Sørsdal Glacier to the south and the Ingrid Christensen Coast to the north. Over time, the area has arranged itself into a vast landscape of peaks, peninsulas, lakes and fjords. For the past 10 months I've been lucky enough to call this place my backyard, exploring as much of the area as possible.
But how does one traverse such diverse and varying lands?
Bikepacking: The idea seemed appealing, unique even. The sea ice is dead flat. Can't be that hard? In my mind it was going to be a quick and efficient way to cover ground through the fjords. Gliding across the newly formed sea ice with grace and elegance. Wrong. The reality couldn't have been further from the truth. After a small local test ride resulted in minor cold injures, I was undeterred. I'll refine the setup, I thought. The refinements did nothing and the result was a grinding 30km slog in first gear that averaged a slow walking pace. Live and learn.
Overall Rating: 2/10
Character Building: 10/10
Hiking & Sledding: As they say, simple is best and nothing quite beats the simplicity of walking through an area to really gain an appreciation for it. Slow it down and take in the smaller details. Summer provides ideal conditions to get out and explore much of the Vestfold Hills by foot. Without defined tracks to follow, the landscape dictates your path. It's not always the most direct route but it can never be the wrong one. Come winter, just change the pack for a sled and the sea ice becomes your highway.
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
Haggland: The stalwart of modern-day Antarctic adventure. Just like the expeditioners that ride in them, they are industrial, noisy, uncomfortable, but always reliable. You can pack all the comforts you'll require for a weekend away.
Overall Rating: 5/10
Flying: A novelty. Over summer, very few would complain when they receive the order to be ready at the Heli Hut. This order often came with detailed instructions and precise timing from our enigmatic Ops Coordinator. You get loaded and strapped in by the crew, put your comms headset on. As the helicopter blades spin up to speed you look around at your fellow expeditioners, all with gleeful ear-to-ear grins on their face. I wonder if they too are having a moment of personal reflection on how you ended up here, flying around Antarctica in a helicopter. High above the hilltops you get to see the Vestfold hills from a different perspective.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Nelson Clegg.
